


Way Back Home (Found)

by XtaticPearl



Category: The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, Superhusbands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-28 05:46:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13897566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XtaticPearl/pseuds/XtaticPearl
Summary: The entire day had passed and all the 50 different plans Tony had made were now a puff of smoke.“Today sucks,” Tony declared on a sigh before picking up his empty smoothie glass and leaving the roof, the Fourth Of July fireworks a dwindling background in his misery.





	Way Back Home (Found)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [faite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/faite/gifts).



> This is a birthday gift for one of the most talented artists and wonderful people of this fandom. Happy birthday!

The sky was painted red and gold, midnight blue fading behind the burst of the fireworks. Somewhere down the road, miles ahead of land, someone sent another rocket into the vastness of celebrations and Tony calculated the gunpowder used for the spectacle. 

It was probably a bitter thought in the face of the day, the freedom it represented, but Tony had never claimed to be a cheerful man. Not when he was allowed to be alone with himself, at least.

“ETD, Jarvis?” he asked, eyeing a particularly ambitious sparkle show fading above, the lounge chair cold beneath him.

“It is 22.39, sir,” the AI replied, the respectful tone doing nothing to mask his exasperation of his creator’s gloom, “The day will end in 2 hours and 21 minutes. May I interest you in more...conducive entertainment, sir?”

“Nice try, J,” Tony grumbled, taking a sip of the terribly made blueberry smoothie he had resigned himself to. An arrangement of red, white, and blue shot up into the mess already polluting the sky and Tony didn’t appreciate the reminder in the least. 

“It’s not  _ that _ impressive,” he commented, waving a hand at the fading formation, “I mean, clearly I could do better.”

“As is always the case with anything explosive, sir,” the voice from his phone agreed and Tony shrugged.

“I should probably get back,” he said idly when his smoothie was nothing but dredge, eyeing the residue with mild distaste, “This was a disaster.”

“In Dum-E’s defense,” Jarvis quipped, “you  _ did _ agree to the broccoli.”

“I was distracted,” Tony replied, shooting one last look at the sky before he dragged himself up from the lounge chair, “Alright then, I think we’ve had enough of moping now.”

“A sentiment that never crossed my mind, sir,” Jarvis said mildly and Tony rolled his eyes. It wasn’t his fault, really. He hadn’t begun the day in a morose mood, despite having woken up before the sun was really visible. Making breakfast was not on top of his skills but it was a special day for the most special person and Tony had risked worse for him. 

Steve’s sleepy smile when he saw the slightly charred pancakes and splendid coffee presented in bed was well worth the sacrifice of sleep and dignity (Jarvis was  _ not _ the best sous chef apparently).

Tony had planned it perfectly, the first birthday he would celebrate of Steve after they had gotten hitched. It was his first birthday as a husband and he had watched enough movies with Barton to know that it always left an impression. Not that Tony was still trying to impress Steve, of course. That would be ridiculous, considering that they had been together long enough and Steve consistently told him that he loved him and -

Yeah, he was convincing nobody. He had planned the birthday to blow Steve’s mind with his amazing husband skills. 

He hadn’t factored in Zemo though, and Steve had been extremely particular when he had told Tony to sit the mission out. Apparently Tony had drawn the short straw in being the home-base control this time. 

The entire day had passed and all the 50 different plans Tony had made were now a puff of smoke. 

“Today sucks,” Tony declared on a sigh before picking up his empty smoothie glass and leaving the roof, the Fourth Of July fireworks a dwindling background in his misery. 

He was working on the outline of a new exoskeleton of the armour when Jarvis announced Steve’s return. Tony considered pausing, considered going up to join him and unwind, but his day had been seeped in a dark mood enough to make him reconsider it. It was probably petty and insignificant but the failure of all his plans were draining, and Tony acknowledged Jarvis’ announcement but kept working.  

It wasn’t long before the workshop doors opened and he heard Dum-E whirr excitedly, the way he did when Steve came to visit after a long time. 

“Hi,” Steve whispered and Tony felt his husband’s arms come around him from the back, a light kiss pressed into the back of his neck. He could see Steve’s gloves and uniform still on and leaned back a little, letting Steve take his weight a bit.

“Hi,” Tony replied and knocked his head gently against Steve’s, tilting his neck to give Steve space to rest his head on Tony’s shoulder, “Good day?”

“Better now,” Steve hummed a bit, pulling Tony closer and nuzzling at his cheek a bit before watching what he was working on, “Is that the new design?”

“First sketch,” Tony nodded, swaying in place with Steve, exhaling with a sag as Steve’s arms held on, “Did you have dinner?”

“Not yet,” Steve shrugged and Tony could feel it in his back, the uniform prominent against Tony’s own thin t-shirt, “You?”

“I had a smoothie,” Tony said and caught Steve’s hands against his own stomach, linking his fingers with the gloved ones, “There’s leftovers from lunch in the fridge. Or do you want take-out?”

“I missed your lunch,” Steve sounded disappointed, a tinge of sad but soft against Tony’s throat, warmth and regretful fondness in his voice. 

Tony turned his head enough to brush his lips over Steve’s cheek and did it again when the blond leaned into his touch.

“We can warm it up now,” he offered and Steve buried his face in Tony’s shoulder, mumbling a tired  _ I love you _ in it, “Alright, off with you, sleepyhead, c’mon.”

Tony turned in Steve’s arms and found him smiling at him, tired and nicked but still content. He desperately wished that his throat wouldn’t choke up and smiled back but could feel the remnant of the day’s mood make it falter a bit. He could probably chalk it up to tiredness but Steve had loved his eyes and smile for long enough to know when they were broken, and Tony saw his husband’s smile dim into alertness.

“Hey,” Steve stroked a thumb over Tony’s collar, “What’s wrong?”

Tony squeezed Steve’s free hand and patted his waist. “Nothing, honey,” he lied and tried to move away but Steve’s eyes were clearer now, worry seeping into them.

“Sweetheart,” Steve cupped his face and Tony could feel himself fighting the urge to simply crumple, the weight of disappointment and self-blamed failure breaking free, “Tony, what’s going on?”

“Nothing, I just,” Tony inhaled shakily, knowing that his eyes were growing soft and his smile looked vulnerable, “I had - plans.”

Steve looked at him intently, waiting for more, and Tony shrugged, ruining a hand over his face.

“It’s your first birthday after -,” Tony looked at a spot above Steve’s shoulder, feeling awkward and embarrassed, “- after our wedding and - I just had plans.”

He didn’t say that he felt like he had ruined their first significant married birthday or that he didn’t feel good enough in fulfilling his duties of making Steve feel special. That always made Steve’s face go pinched, a hearbroken shadow over his features, and Tony wasn’t going to worsen the day by doing that.

Steve stared at Tony for a minute before Tony saw the understanding sink in. He could see it in the way those azure eyes, ones Tony had loved in dreams and reality, widened before softening. 

Tony looked away, hoping that they could just end the day before he did anything more embarrassing but then he felt Steve’s fingers on his chin.

Steve caught Tony’s chin with his thumb and index finger, gentle but sure, and tilted his head till their eyes met. Tony knew that he could see every bit of insecurity in Tony’s eyes, reading every thought and motion passing through them. He inhaled to reassure Steve but then fell silent when Steve leaned in. 

There would never come a day when Tony would not open up, not meet Steve’s lips when they touched his. He had known that from the first time they had kissed, an awkward clash of teeth and missed marks. He could be struggling for breath and he would give his last to Steve for a kiss. It was something he had accepted as truth.

Steve leaned away, lingering against the corner of Tony’s mouth and pressed a soft kiss there before he smiled.

“Thank you,” he whispered and Tony was chasing the air Steve breathed.

“For what?” he asked, dazed by the curve of those lips and Steve skimmed their noses together.

“For building me a home.”

Tony’s eyes slid up and met Steve’s at that, feeling the air in his chest expanding at the meaning the words hid. He knew that Steve wasn’t talking about the Tower or their room, the four walls and a roof they came back to every night. It wasn’t the cement that surrounded them that Steve meant.

It was the heartbeat that they fell asleep to. The goosebumps they touched in the wake of the dawn. The leftovers of a love-cooked meal. 

It was their life, the one they had built and were expanding with every day, and Tony wondered if every destruction of his would be worth the creation of this. 

“It was always the plan,” he said, dragging Steve back to him, and knew that this moment would outlast the memory of the day, for as long as they built memories of other birthdays.


End file.
